


Wild Kingdom, Revisited

by dustandroses



Category: Oz (TV)
Genre: Community: oz_magi, Ficlet, M/M, Video
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-25
Updated: 2012-01-25
Packaged: 2017-10-30 02:52:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/326960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustandroses/pseuds/dustandroses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toby's aware of the fact that he and Keller are playing a dangerous game of predator and prey.  But after almost three years in this hell hole, Toby isn't likely to buckle under to Keller's pressure.  If he's not careful, Keller's going to find out the hard way that in Oz, the prey can be just as deadly as the predator.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wild Kingdom, Revisited

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Haru776](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Haru776).



> **Beta:** Trillingstar, my hero and shit  
>  Written for Haru776 for Oz_Magi 2011. First posted on January 12, 2012.
> 
>  **My Prompt:**  
>  **Pairing:** Beecher/Keller  
>  **Keyword/Prompt Phrase:** animal  
>  **Canon/AU/Either:** Either  
>  **Story/Art/Either:** Either

  
  
Keller was watching him again.  
  
Toby wasn't particularly surprised about that, but it still unnerved him. After all this time, Toby should have been used to it, but it hadn't happened yet. Hill was taking his time deciding how many new cards he wanted, and almost unconsciously, Toby's eyes drifted up to the second floor where Keller leaned, forearms resting on the rail, his intense, dark stare focused on Toby.  
  
A flash of memory rose up of a childhood full of innocence, where nightmares crept into his dreams by way of fairy tales read by his doting mother. He remembered watching the old black and white renditions of Dracula and Frankenstein and mummies with trailing white wrappings. One particularly disturbing nightmare had been brought to him courtesy of Mutual of Omaha's _Wild Kingdom_ , a glimpse into the ecosystem of the Grand Canyon, and Toby's introduction to the predator known as the mountain lion.  
  
Toby had sat in front of the television, fascinated by the largest North American wild cat as it stalked its prey. It picked its point of ambush carefully, twilight shadowing the ridge of land where it lay, its tawny coat blending into its surroundings. It watched patiently as the elk herd drew closer and closer to its hiding place, nothing but the dark tip of its tail flicking lightly in the night air. Toby had gasped, horror-struck, as the mountain lion sank its teeth into the back of the poor elk's neck, bringing down a creature that was a good three times its size.  
  
After hours of restless sleep, Toby had awakened in the middle of the night, terrified. The thought of powerful jaws biting through the back of his neck as he collapsed under a heavy weight left him shivering, despite the warmth of his blankets. His mother had brought him a glass of cool water and pushed his hair back from his sweaty forehead, reminding him how far away they lived from the Grand Canyon.  
  
It had taken him a long time to fall asleep again.  
  
Despite the horror of his nightmare, Toby had checked out a book on mountain lions from the library the very next day. His parents didn’t understand, but the wild cats enthralled him. Something about the powerful, deadly grace of their movements, the way they slid silently through the brush and leapt with pinpoint accuracy, ambushing their prey with lethal skill drew him in, and turned his horror into a lifelong fascination with wild cats.  
  
O'Reily's voice, heavy with sarcasm, cut through Toby's flashback.  
  
“He's not going anywhere, Beecher. Think you can take your eyes off him long enough to decide how many cards you want?”  
  
He shook his head to try and clear his mind.  
  
“Shut up, O'Reily. Give me three cards, and keep your comments to yourself.”  
  
O'Reily smirked at Toby, and passed on the cards. Jesus. A pair of sevens wasn't likely to get him very far. Toby tossed in his hand.  
  
“I've had enough. I'm going to lie down for a while.”  
  
Cyril had been playing with the checkers laid out on the next table over, stacking them together, using them like Legos to build an elaborate castle of red and black. He looked up as Toby stood.  
  
“Don't forget Miss Sally. She'll be on soon. Right, Ryan?”  
  
O'Reily nodded as he shuffled the cards. “Half an hour, Cyril. You've still got plenty of time.”  
  
Toby smiled at Cyril. “Thanks for the reminder, Cyril. I'll see you later, then.”  
  
Cyril nodded seriously as Toby walked away. “We'll save you a seat!”  
  
Back in his pod, Toby looked up once more, making sure Keller was there, still watching. He shivered, the sense memory of that childhood nightmare making itself known once again. If Keller was the predator, then that made him the prey. The comparison didn’t sit well with Toby; he’d worked hard to prove himself among the predators that hunted the wilderness that was Oz. It occurred to him that mountain lions hunted formidable prey. Elk, moose and bighorn sheep were all fierce fighters in their own right, the predator who took them on had to be cunning and careful or it could easily wind up on the wrong end of a stag’s sharp antlers.  
  


Toby could be dangerous; he'd proven that more than once since he got out of the infirmary. He felt a twinge of sorrow for Andrew – the poor kid was in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the worst possible influence of a father - but it didn't last long. It was the law of the jungle in Oz. Toby had done what he had to do, and he'd know from the beginning there would probably be casualties. He just hadn't expected the killing blow to come from the victim himself.  
  
Toby watched as Keller headed down the stairs, joining O'Reily and Hill in their game of poker. He took a seat with a clear view into Toby's pod, and Toby smiled grimly as he watched Keller settle into his chair. Sooner or later, Toby would forgive him; the bastard had nearly suffered enough. But Toby would never forget. He might still love Keller, but trusting him was a completely different matter.  
  
One thing that intrigued Toby about mountain lions was that they didn't kill their prey the same way as most large predators. A tiger or a wolf attacked the throat for their killing bite. Mountain lions came up from behind, or above, aiming for the back of the neck and often crushing the spine with their powerful jaws. The single most important rule to remember about mountain lions was to _never_ turn your back on one.  
  
Faced with Keller’s seductive nature, Toby had forgotten that the rule applied to more than just four-legged animals, but it wasn't something he was going to forget again. For now, Toby and Keller would continue to play their game of predator and prey. Toby smirked; Keller might find himself on the wrong end of that equation if he didn’t watch his step. Catching Keller’s gaze, Toby laughed at the unsettled look that crossed his face. Keller should have learned by now that in Oz, nothing was ever quite what it seemed.  
  
  
The End  
  
 ****

**Author's Note:**

> I included a simple morphing video with this story in the original post. Unfortunately, AO3 doesn't have the functionality to host vids, yet, so here's a link to the vid, as hosted by Oz Magi (since I'm having trouble getting the vid to upload to my host.)
> 
> [Wild Kingdom, Revisited - Morph](http://s1097.photobucket.com/albums/g344/Oz_Magi/?action=view&current=ChrisKeller_MountainLionmorph.mp4)
> 
> I used the free program FotoMorph by [Digital Photo Software](http://www.diphso.no/index.html). 
> 
> **Story Notes:**  
>  Mountain lions are the name I came across most often when reading about the wild cats that live in the Grand Canyon. In order to not confuse things, I kept that name throughout the story, despite the fact that they’re most well known by the name cougar. They’re also called panthers, pumas, and dozens of other names since they cover a huge range, from Canada to the farthest reaches of South America. They’re the fourth largest predatory cat in the world, despite the fact that they’re not very closely related to the big cats. Their closest cousin is the common house cat. They’re fascinating creatures, [you should check them out](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar).
> 
> Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom almost certainly covered the cougar at some point. However, the program was always careful not to show the worst of the violence, so I may have slightly stretched the boundaries of truth to make the story more dramatic. Hey, that’s why we call it fiction, right?


End file.
